Family of Pan Am Bombing Victim Awarded $9.23 Million

A federal jury in Brooklyn awarded $9.23 million Wednesday to the family of a man killed in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

The award came in the first of what could be hundreds of trials after a jury’s verdict July 10 holding Pan American World Airways responsible for inadequate security. Of the 270 people killed in the terrorist attack, survivors of 213 are plaintiffs in individual lawsuits to determine damages, lawyers in the case said.

For three days, the jurors heard testimony concerning the earning power, expected life span and family graces of Robert Pagnucco. When he died at 51, Pagnucco was assistant general counsel to PepsiCo Inc., the food and soft-drink giant. He had a wife and four children, the youngest of whom was 12. He made $160,000 a year and had millions of dollars’ worth of stock options.

Pan Am Corp., the airline’s parent company, has filed for bankruptcy protection, but the damage awards are covered by the company’s insurance. Pan Am officials said earlier this month that the company intends to appeal the verdicts.